Giulio Cesare Procaccini

The figures in this painting almost break out of the dark background, and their compression into a narrow space enhances the emphatic gestures and postures. Their elegant features and surging, well-rounded bodies increase the refinement and energy of the whole composition.
Recent conservation has revealed the excellent condition of the picture surface, bringing to light the freshness of the artist’s rapid handling, especially in the figures’ light, curly hair, in which one can almost sense the softness of the spiralling curls. Swift, loose brushstrokes define the splendid white fabric that falls from the Virgin’s lap to the foreground, brightening the whole scene. The superbly confident handling of this compositional device brings to mind the “bozze” and “macchie” (splodges of brushwork) for which Procaccini was much celebrated by those who collected his work, and in which manner he continued to paint right up to the last years of his career.